The Anti-Burnout Playbook

Today at a glance:

• Question: Redefining Self-Care

• Quote: Sahil Bloom

• Framework: Daily Non-Negotiables

• Resource: 7 Early Signs of Burnout

Question: What is your relationship to self-care?

It is my belief that early stage entrepreneurs have one of the hardest jobs in the world.

Running a business sounds like the dream, you get to set your own hours, do what you love to do, make an unlimited amount of money... but it also comes with the weight of being 100% responsible for keeping your lights on.

Not to mention most entrepreneurs become Chief Everything Officer for the first few years while their business is growing. This is the hardest position to be in because most aren't earning more than they otherwise would in the workforce, yet they carry the burden of trying to get clients. It’s essentially trapping yourself into a 9-5 that follows you everywhere you go.

The stress of running a business will affect your sleep, your relationships, your energy levels, your overall outlook on life, ultimately leading you into the early stages of burnout.

Most people underestimate the power of burnout. I’m not talking about the feeling of being tired after a long day or week….

I’m talking about an extended feeling of emotional exhaustion that doesn’t go away after a workout or a quality night’s sleep. It’s the heavy feeling in your body that brings you to your knees everyday because you are absolutely fed up and done with life.

“If you don’t take a break. The break will take itself”.

The body has a limit and if you continually push past it, it will either shut itself down or show up as disease. It has been proven that chronic stress leads to health concerns later in life.

This is what happened to me in 2022 when I was working 10-12 hour days growing one of my other companies (video marketing agency).

Taking every sales call. Making content for social media. Emailing 20 clients / day. Dm’ing leads on Instagram and LinkedIn. 10+ hour film days. Editing into the night. Doing everything myself for months and months on end.

I wasn’t eating well, I wasn’t working out, I wasn’t sleeping well, I had constant anxiety and body was breaking down. My body was under so much stress that I had to take pepto bismol just to digest my food.

Yup - you read that last part right. It was rough.

Burnout forced me to slow down and take a break from work.

It took me over 6 months to get my full energy back. That is how powerful burnout is. I read online that it takes some people years to fully recover from burnout.

We as human beings are not designed to be in a constant state of stress. Our bodies cannot handle a high level of cortisol indefinitely.

This is why our relationship to self-care is crucial. We need to view self-care as a mandatory practice. We need to view it as the ultimate level of self respect.

Think about it this way - would you treat your partners body and mental health like shit? Would you recommend they work 12 hours a day? Eat like garbage? Stay up late? Skip workouts? Work like a dog?

Of course not. So why do put ourselves through this?

Well, I could dive into the idea that this typically happens as a result of low self esteem due to some emotional need that wasn’t met in childhood… but I’ll leave this conversation to professional licensed therapists.

My point is simply this… your physical, emotional, and mental health is the most important thing in your life. If you can get this part down, your entire life will begin to flourish.

Running your business from a balanced state is a game changer. Take this from someone who found out the hard way…

In the framework section below I outline my favourite self-care strategy that helped me go from Burnout to Breakthrough.

Quote: “You never forget the person who was just willing to sit there with you when you were stranded alone in the dark.” - Sahil Bloom

Framework: Daily Non-Negotiables

When you think about taking better care of yourself, the biggest challenge is that it's really overwhelming to try and tackle everything at the same time. 

So what I like to do is set a small number of daily non-negotiables for a predetermined period of time before adding in anymore. This means that no matter what happens you will do 100% of these things. The reason this is so important is because if you want to have more energy, if you want to feel more confident and motivated, you need to build momentum. And you can't build momentum if you are half-assing how you are taking care of your body. 

Here are some examples:

• Minimum 7 hours of sleep 

• Morning sunlight

• 1 dose of caffeine a day

• 10 Minutes of Daily meditation/breathwork

• Protein rich diet

• 3-4 litres of water 

• 5-10 mins stretching

• Minimize scrolling on social media

• 30 minutes of exercise or in nature

Resource: Jay Shetty Podcast: 7 Early Signs of Burnout and Practical Ways To Heal and Recover.

In Case You Missed It:

In Monday’s issue, I wrote about the power of finding your purpose life.

Here are a few simple questions to ask yourself when you feel unmotivated:

1. What is my deeper purpose in the world?

2. What actions will move me closer to my goals?

3. What would a successful person do in this scenario?

4. Who do I need to become to accomplish this task?

5. Am I willing to accept mediocrity?

When you understand the why behind everything you do, it becomes easier to do boring work. There becomes a deeper driver force behind the decisions you make. This is why it is crucial to gain clarity on your purpose in the world.

If you are looking for more resources on how to better manage your mental and emotional health, we have a variety of available resources when you sign up for a Nurtr Wellness membership. Check it out here.